


purr for me, darling

by Ellidappler



Category: Hades (Video Game 2018)
Genre: ...and animals eating it, All cats go to Elysium. Fite me, Animal Death, Cats, Cerberus and the kitten are Fronds, Fluff, M/M, Zagreus does not know what milk is and also confuses countable vs. uncountable nouns, descriptions of the gross contents of a satyr sack, oof, puns, will tag as I go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:54:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27811843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellidappler/pseuds/Ellidappler
Summary: “Flame Wheels are annoying,” Zagreus says, feeling a need to fill the silence. “There are more dangerous foes than them, but I find them the most irritating.”“I cannot confess that I can relate,” Thanatos admits. “If anything, I have an... odd fondness for them. The noises they make remind me of kittens purring and mewling.”Zagreus was staring at Thanatos with a puzzled expression, his brow deeply furrowed as he stared at his lover. “What?” Thanatos says. “I am allowed to have opinions that differ from yours, Zag.”Zagreus shakes his head. “No, it’s not that. Than, what is a kitten?”——Thanatos gets his boyfriend a pet cat.
Relationships: Thanatos/Zagreus (Hades Video Game)
Comments: 40
Kudos: 787





	1. Chapter 1

“You have returned sooner than I expected,” Thanatos drawls. Zagreus sits next to Thanatos on one of the chairs he’d bought for the balcony, his mood still good despite having returned so quickly.

“Yes. I got taken out by a Flame Wheel in Elysium.” By recent standards, that would make Zagreus’ last run a relative failure. Lately he’d been able to consistently get to the Temple of Styx. He’d faced his father several times and had even been able to best him on two notable occasions.

“Ah... The Twin Fists?” Thanatos asks, wondering if Zagreus had brought along the weapon he had the most difficulty with. Zagreus snorts. “You know it. I still haven’t mastered them.”

“Perhaps you will have better luck next time,” Thanatos murmurs. They sit in silence, staring out over the River Styx.

“Flame Wheels are annoying,” Zagreus says, feeling a need to fill the silence. “There are more dangerous foes than them, but I find them the most irritating.”

“I cannot confess that I can relate,” Thanatos admits. “If anything, I have an... odd fondness for them. The noises they make remind me of kittens purring and mewling.”

Zagreus was staring at Thanatos with a puzzled expression, his brow deeply furrowed as he stared at his lover. “What?” Thanatos says. “I am allowed to have opinions that differ from yours, Zag.”

Zagreus shakes his head. “No, it’s not that. Than, what is a kitten?”

Thanatos blinks at him. [i]Ah.[/i] Zagreus knows very little of animals, having been trapped in Hades’ palace most of his life. He wouldn’t have learned much during his escape attempts, either, as specters of animals in the underworld were mostly shapeless and his times on the surface were too brief for him to learn much about the creatures of the surface.

“A kitten is a young cat,” Thanatos says. Zagreus still looks confused, so Thanatos continues. “And cats are small animals, perhaps this large.” Thanatos holds up his hands and mimics the rough dimensions of a cat.

“Some of them are wild creatures, living freely, while others are kept by mortals as pets. Many people find them cute and charming. I suppose I am among them.”

Zagreus looks at Thanatos with a thoughtful and intrigued look on his face. “Interesting. I would like to see a cat someday, then.”

An idea pops into Thanatos’ mind, but his face makes no betrayal of it. “Yes... perhaps someday you will.”

* * *

  
Thanatos spends the next several weeks searching. It was an unfortunate truth that kittens are sickly creatures, their weak and fragile lives too often cut short by disease. Whenever he was tasked with reaping the soul of a kitten, he carefully inspected them, hoping that he has found the perfect one. But none of them are quite right, their temperaments not the exact proportion of affectionate and playful that Thanatos seeks.

Until today.

Thanatos appears in the barn before the mother cat, three kittens nestled up beside her. Two are greedily nursing, while the third, a black kitten with white markings, lies incredibly still, her breath so shallow it is almost nonexistent.

The mother cat looks up at Thanatos. Her green eyes are knowing and mournful. This was not the first time he has come for one of her children. Two of her other kittens have already passed, their spirits now resting peacefully within the fields of Elysium. She does not hiss at Thanatos as she had the previous times, only turning her head away and laying it down, her demeanor dejected and somber.

“I’m sorry,” Thanatos whispers, picking up the black and white kitten. “I will ensure that your child will find happiness.”

The mother cat closes her eyes, ignoring him. The kitten in his hands, Thanatos notices with much surprise, is purring, weakly headbutting his fingers. He pets her head with one finger and she purrs and nips at his fingertip, happy to receive the attention.

He feels his heart swell as he looks down on this small creature. _You, you will be the one,_ he decides.

A purple glow radiates from his fingers as he pets the kitten, coaxing her soul out from the fragile body. She purrs quietly, basking in the affection, though the noises slowly grow fainter and eventually stop altogether.

The soul of the kitten is now in one of Thanatos’ hands, her body in the other. He returns the body to its place by the mother cat’s side, his heart clenching as the remaining kittens turn to sniff curiously at it.

“Come,” he says to the soul in his hands. “I have someone for you to meet.”  
  


* * *

When Zagreus returns after his latest excursion, he finds Thanatos waiting for him in his bedroom, sitting on the bed. He has a wand of some sort in one hand, feathers attached to its end, and is waving it around as a tiny four-legged spirit bats at it. Zagreus looks intently at the spirit, his mouth forming a small “o” of awe as he gazes at it. It is so small and fluffy, impossibly cute, and Zagreus has never seen anything like it.

“Than,” Zagreus says. Thanatos looks up and smiles at him, beckoning for Zagreus to approach with a flick of his wrist. “Zag,” he says, “come here.”

Zagreus sits on the bed. Thanatos lifts the tiny shade and places it in Zagreus’ lap, and the prince can only look down with a look of wonder at the creature.

“It is so small,” he says. The kitten meows at him. Zagreus has a look of shock on his face now. “It sounds like a Flame Wheel. It-“

“Is a kitten, yes.” Thanatos scratches gently at the kitten’s ears, and she purrs, leaning into the touch.

“Oh,” Zagreus murmurs, reaching out with a single finger and running it along the fur of her spine. “It’s so tiny and fluffy... I see why people think they’re cute.”

“I’ve imbued her soul with power, that her shade will never lose shape. She is yours to keep, if you so wish.”

Zagreus looks at Thanatos with excitement and amazement. “Truly?”

“Truly.”

Zagreus is looking down at the kitten with a wide grin on his lips. Tears of joy are forming at the corners of his eyes, but they’ve yet to spill.

“I love her. I love her so much,” he says, and presses a kiss against Thanatos’ cheek. Thanatos hums in contention, happy to receive Zagreus’ affection.

“What will you name her?” he asks.

“Purrberus,” Zagreus answers without missing a beat. The name is so ridiculous that Thanatos can’t help but laugh. Zagreus grins and looks at him fondly, both immensely proud of himself for the clever name and pleased to see his beloved laughing.

“She’s a magnificent little creature. Thank you, Than. I will cherish her.”

Thanatos smiles and leans over to kiss Zagreus. Purrberus rumbles away in Zagreus’ lap, amber eyes blinking in contention as she nuzzles against Zagreus’ hand.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning for mentions of blood and the gross contents of a Satyr sack

For the first few days, Purrberus is content to stay inside Zagreus’ room, napping while the prince is away and being doted on by him when he’s home. Soon enough, though, she becomes comfortable enough to start exploring. Zagreus’ room has no doors, so Purrberus is free to walk out and roam. And she does, wandering out into the House of Hades and walking around as if she owns the place.

Zagreus is home when she first decides to venture out, so he follows after the spectral kitten as she pads down the hallway. She ignores the entryway to the lounge and the flower-filled corner where Nyx is often found, instead walking right into the Great Hall. The Lord of the Dead takes no notice, occupied with his paperwork, but several shades stare as Purrberus wanders around the Great Hall.

She investigates some of the decorations before walking up to Cerberus, approaching him slowly and cautiously. The guard of the underworld watches as she creeps up to him, all three of his heads looking equal parts amazed and confused at the tiny creature’s boldness. Zagreus can’t blame him. Are all cats so daring, he wonders, or is Purrberus an exception?

Purrberus stops when she reaches Cerberus’ foot. She sniffs at it curiously for a minute. Zagreus and all of the shades in the hall are watching anxiously, not knowing how Cerberus will react. Eventually Purrberus mews and climbs up onto Cerberus’ foot, her canine namesake seemingly having earned her seal of approval. Cerberus looks entirely taken aback and baffled, but he otherwise does not seem upset. The kitten kneads at the flesh of Cerberus’ foot before curling up atop of it, rumbling away in contention.

Cerberus looks down at her, unreadable expressions on his faces, and not for the first time, Zagreus wishes that he could read Cerberus’ thoughts.

The hellhound lays his heads down to rest, one neck curved to shelter his paw and the tiny kitten perched atop it.  
  


* * *

  
Cerberus and Purrberus become fast friends. Whenever Cerberus is off duty, the two can often be seen snuggled together on the plush bedding Zagreus bought for Cerberus. They play together, too, rolling around the red ball that belongs to Cerberus. Their playtimes are comical. Cerberus will gently roll the ball towards Purrberus, nudging it ever so slightly with one of his noses, while Purrberus will run up to it and slam into the ball that is several times her size with all her might, rolling it back to him. It doesn’t look fun at all to Zagreus, but the two of them seem to enjoy it.

Purrberus struggles to understand Cerberus’ grooming habits. She seems to think that Cerberus is either disinterested in or incapable of grooming himself, so she takes the task upon herself, spending inordinate amounts of time licking at his red fur. She usually manages to clean off a paw and ankle before she becomes worn out and gives up, falling asleep on top of him in the middle of her work. Cerberus is amused by these attempts and lets her be, occasionally reciprocating with a single slobbery lick that leaves Purrberus damp.

One day, Cerberus returns home with the remnants of a Satyr sack secured in his mouth. The stench emanating from the burlap sack is rancid, stinking up the entire hall, but Cerberus growls whenever Dusa tries to take it away from him. No amount of coaxing or offers of other treats gets him to give it up, so Dusa eventually gives up and instead opts to burn incense to cover the rank smell of the Satyr sack.

The motive for Cerberus’ unusual behavior becomes clear when Purrberus shows up. The hellhound wags his tail and dumps the content of the Satyr sack on the floor when the kitten walks up to Cerberus. Hypnos, watching from down the hall, retches at the sight of mangled fur and bloodied bits of unknown meat. Purrberus, on the other hand, is only intrigued. She leans down and sniffs at it, then looks up at Cerberus, as if asking for permission. He woofs and she digs in, eating her fill of the offered treat.

When she’s done, she crawls on top of Cerberus’ paw and dozes off, her belly distended from the meal and her small face the very picture of satisfaction. Cerberus licks up the remaining mix of meat and fur and bone on the floor and settles in to nap with Purrberus.

Poor Dusa is tasked with cleaning up the bloody splatters left from their snack. Her torture does not end there. It becomes a common occurrence for Cerberus to bring home parts of Satyr sacks to share with his feline friend. Incense burners a permanent fixture in the Great Hall after Dusa tires of having to take them out and put them up over and over again.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zagreus (sort of) learns about milk and tries to get some milk for Purrberus.

“Say,” Zagreus begins, thoughtfully swirling the contents of the bottle of nectar he had just received from the Wretched Broker in exchange for five keys, “do you think Purrberus can drink this?”

The Wretched Broker levels Zagreus with a flat stare. “Sir, she is a cat.”

“Well, a shade of a cat. Shades can drink nectar. And Cerberus can drink it, too, so I don’t know why she couldn’t.”

“Even if she _can_ drink it, I doubt she’ll have any interest in it. Why don’t you give her milk instead?”

Zagreus stares blankly at the Wretched Broker, smiling pleasantly in a way that makes it obvious he had no clue what the shade was talking about. _Oh,_ the Wretched Broker realizes, _he doesn’t know what milk is._

“Do you know what milk is, sir?” Zagreus shakes his head.

“It’s a liquid that many creatures make, from humans to wolves to even rodents. But the milk from cows, goats, and sheep is what people use. You can drink it and use it in cooking. Humans enjoy it, and cats are especially known to love milk.”

“Hmm,” Zagreus hums, his expression thoughtful. “I’ll have to try and get my hands on it, then. Thank you for your advice, sir!”

* * *

Zagreus thought long and hard about what the Wretched Broker had told him about milk. Zagreus didn’t know where he could find cows or goats or sheep in the Underworld, as the spirits of animals tended to lose their forms quite quickly compared to other mortals. Their memories of life fade rapidly, and with them, their shapes, until they become blobby and indistinct. But there is a half-cow, half-human Zagreus knows of, and since both cows and humans could make milk, why, he doesn’t see why a hybrid couldn’t.

And so, the next time he is in Elysium’s arena, he asks a favor of the Minotaur.

“Asterius! Before we fight to the death, a question. You should be able to make milks, right? Can you please give me a milk?”

Theseus’ face turns red and he splutters incomprehensibly for a few moments. “Fiend!” he eventually manages to choke out. “You insolent daemon! Have you any shame or dignity? How dare you mock my friend so!”

“Huh?” Zagreus says at the same time Asterius speaks up.

“You are mistaken. I cannot make milk, short one,” he grumbles. “Enough nonsense and more fighting, now.”

With that, they all dive headlong into battle, fighting as the shades in the stands watch and cheer.

* * *

Zagreus sighs as he plods up to Charon’s shop in the Temple of Styx. Apparently, his best lead for milk in the Underworld was a dead end.

“Hello there, Charon,” he greets, eyes sweeping over the various goods the boatman had on offer. His gaze lands on the carts and shelves Charon has, all filled with scrolls and cloth and produce meant for import into the Underworld. He’d never paid them any mind, always focusing on the items Charon put in the spotlight that would help Zagreus with his escape attempts, but this time, he scans the bottles of liquid Charon had.

“Say,” Zagreus begins, “you wouldn’t happen to sell milks, would you, mate?”

“Hrrrngh,” Charon replies.

“Oh well. I thought it was worth at least asking about.”

“Hrrrrrrrrrmmmm,” Charon groans.

“You take custom orders? How much would two milks cost me?”

Charon takes a moment to think before growling out his response. “Hrrrrnnnnnggh.”

Zagreus winces at the number but counts out the payment and hands it to Charon. “I’ll look forward to receiving the milks, then.”

Charon nods as he pockets the coin, then watches Zagreus dash into one of the Satyr tunnels to begin searching for a Satyr sack.

* * *

“Hey there, boss!” Hermes cheerily greets Zagreus the next time the prince accepts one of his boons within the heat of Asphodel. “I got a request from my associate a bit ago. Kind of a strange one, but he was sure to give me my cut, so I’m happy to help. Anyways, here are two bottles of milk for you.” Two glass bottles of a white liquid appear on the ground in front of the boon. “Now, that’s enough dilly-dallying. Choose your boon and run along!”

* * *

When Zagreus returns to the house, he makes a beeline to the lounge. “Head Chef,” he calls, standing near a stack of clean dishware, “mind if I borrow a bowl?”

The shade nods without even looking up from the onions they are cutting. “Thank you, good shade!” Zagreus says, grabbing a bowl and running off.

Zagreus dashes around the house looking for Purrberus, a bowl in his hands and two bottles of milk tucked under one arm. He eventually finds her curled up on Hypnos’ lap, staring down the shades in the line waiting for audience with Hades. She’s far more watchful than Hypnos, who is fast asleep, snoring as the queue ever-grows.

“Hey there, darling,” Zagreus coos, lifting Purrberus out of Hypnos’ lap. The sleep god stirs awake, blearily blinking as Zagreus sets Purrberus on the ground.

“I got something special for you,” Zagreus says, setting down the bowl and pouring the contents of one of the bottles into it. “Both of us, I guess. I got a milk for me, too, since I wanted to try it.”

Purrberus sniffs curiously at the bowl before her before helping herself, eagerly lapping it up. Zagreus grins and uncorks his own bottle, taking a swig from it.

“Any good?” Hypnos asks.

Zagreus licks his lips. “It tastes only a bit better than water. I was hoping for something more… flavorful, honestly, but I’m glad Purrberus seems to enjoy it.”

He sips at his milk as he watches Purrberus drain the bowl. Once she’s done, she licks her paws and wipes at her face to clean it of the droplets of milk that cling to her mouth and whiskers.

“Sooooo cute,” Hypnos says, smiling dopily. “Very cute,” Zagreus agrees, his eyes softening at the corners as Purrberus crawls into his lap and curls up for a nap.

“Very cute,” he repeats, gently petting the small shade behind her ears. “I was planning on returning the bowl to the head chef, but that will have to wait, it seems. I don’t want to disturb Purrberus.”

“We can all nap together!” Hypnos exclaims. He yawns and not even a moment later he’s fast asleep, head lolling as he ignores his duties.

“Hypnos that wasn’t quite what I- urgh, he’s already asleep.” Zagreus looks down at Purrberus, still stroking her head. “You two are the champions of sleeping, I swear.” His voice is fond, not irritated in the slightest. He stays there for at least half an hour, petting Purrberus and relaxing as the kitten and Hypnos sleep. When she finally awakes and hops off his lap, he stands and heads off to return the bowl to the head chef and then to start his next escape attempt.


End file.
